“I said real love. One that’s based on honesty. I’m more than just a big dick and a bank account to match.” Jordan shot to his feet, grabbed the jacket from the couch and slid it on. “And when I was with my women, they were more than clients to me. It wasn’t about what I gave to them. It’s everything they were willing to share with me—the parts of themselves that they felt were available.”

  “Well, that’s admirable,” she said in a sarcastic tone as she crossed one leg over the other, letting the robe slide open to dangerous inches.

  “Why do you have such a vested interest in me?” Jordan asked as she uncrossed her legs and stood. “I mean, despite the sordid family history of you seducing your sister’s husband and all.”

  Jordan’s jaw dropped when she said, “I own the agency you work for. At Your Service is solely my creation, my brainchild.”

  She walked over and tapped his chin to close his mouth. “And I did it all for you.”

  “You didn’t do that for me. You did it to get back at my father. What better way to exact your revenge, than to start with someone who looks like him, and feels a little like him.” He glared at her. “What kind of sick shit is that?”

  “I wasn’t—”

  “Yes, you were. Using me to hurt him without him knowing he should be hurt. You admitted to choosing to be with him that way and accepted the role of the sidepiece instead of the entrée. That was on you,” he snapped, storming to the door then pivoting in her direction one last time. “Do. Not. Ever. Approach my woman again especially if you claim you don’t want me to hate you. Leave her out of your jealousy and your games. She doesn’t deserve it. This is the only warning you’ll get.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  Was coming back from the suspension a mistake?

  Lani smiled at Alaina as she headed into Dr. Gervais’ office. Alaina didn’t bother to smile back. That was just as well. The hospital was no longer her oasis. As much as she wanted to initiate a job search, the non-compete clause in her employment contract would mean she’d have to leave the state to join another hospital or practice. Her heart would truly break if a child died because of her presence here today.

  Things with Jordan had been … amazing. As different as they were, they actually clicked. He was perfectly flawed, just like her. She missed him so much, but ending things was for the best. Now if she could focus on getting her career back on track, her life would be damn near perfect. Almost perfect. Somewhat perfect. Lord, she missed him so much.

  Dr. Gervais had been right and so had Lani. The assaults on the babies were connected to her somehow. While she had been out on rotation, no other children were harmed.

  “I have an idea,” Lani said to Dr. Gervais, who was munching on Garrett’s cheese and caramel popcorn. “Someone is monitoring my movements.”

  “We already know that,” she countered. “It’s the only way this person could possibly be aware of when you’d be here. The hospital administration suspects it’s how the attacks were timed.”

  “And that’s my point.” She gestured to the paper on the desk. “The roster is public. It allows all staff members to know who is on call, and on what days and time.”

  Dr. Gervais glanced at the schedule, then back to Lani as realization dawned in her eyes.

  “I’m climbing the walls,” Lani said. “I need to work, but I won’t let my presence put another child in danger.” She tapped the report again. “Don’t officially put me back in rotation. Let me know when you’d like for me to cover. But keep it just between us. Only four-hour blocks at a time. That’ll limit my exposure and their ability to figure things out beforehand.”

  “If the assailant is watching the schedule in order to plan that next attack, then he or she will have to be present more often to catch me here. Then somebody is bound to eventually notice that a stranger with no connection to the hospital is lurking for no real apparent reason, or a staff member is coming in or staying after shift when they don’t need to be here.”

  “That might actually work,” Dr. Gervais said. “But those four hours could be a challenge.”

  “I suspected as much.” Lani smiled and moved to the edge of the chair. “I made a few calls to some extremely interested colleagues. They’d love the chance to work with you and help cover some of the workload.”

  The good doctor blushed. “Flattery will get you everywhere, Dr. Jamison. You keep this up and it’ll be you sitting behind this desk running things one day.”

  Lani shifted in the chair and grinned. “Hope springs eternal.”

  “So how has ‘living your life’ been going?” Dr. Gervais removed her owl-rimmed glasses and placed them on the desk. “I noticed when you walked in that you no longer have that new pep in your step.”

  “Do you want the PG version or the X-rated one?”

  Dr. Gervais’ eyebrows winged upward. “Looks like I need to live vicariously through you.” She pulled a bottle of plantation rum from the bottom drawer and held it up, asking a silent question.

  She paused, debating whether to have that drink with a little over an hour left to her shift. If Dr. Risden got a whiff of Lani’s breath he’d be all over her.

  “Lani?” Dr. Gervais held the bottle over the empty glass.

  “Just tell me you’re trying to kill me without saying you’re trying to kill me.”

  Dr. Gervais roared with laughter. “It’s not that bad.”

  “Puts hairs on the glass.” Lani was only wrapping up paperwork for the remainder of the day so having some spirited libation was all right. Spirited might be too mild of a word. “I’ll take a shot.” She grinned, indicating with the tap of her finger to make it a double. “These days, I could use it. Next time, though, remember that I’m a lightweight.”

  She filled her mentor in on what had transpired with Jordan and Arianna, without mentioning the At Your Service connection.

  Dr. Gervais sat back in the chair and stared blankly ahead. Only then did Lani wonder if she had shared too much.

  “I’m going to say this,” she said. “And you can take it for what it’s worth.”

  Lani braced herself.

  “You’ve had enough of your own hard knocks to understand that life throws curve ball after curve ball just to keep things interesting. If everything were perfect, we’d have no challenges to overcome. No obstacles to face. And that means we wouldn’t grow—spiritually, emotionally, or mentally.” She poured herself a second shot. “Why do you think you chose a profession with more questions than answers? The drive to succeed, the drive to find new paths to healing—that’s an amazing thing.” She looked at Lani over the rim of her glass. “Why didn’t you allow him to address your concerns?”

  “The man is smooth,” she replied. “He’d simply talk his way around it.”

  Dr. Gervais replaced the bottle in her drawer. “So let’s get into it. What do you love about Jordan, really?”

  Lani focused her gaze on the credentials plastered on the wall behind Dr. Gervais. “There’s a controlled edge to him that pulls me. He likes things a certain way, in a certain order. But the way his mind works when he processes change—like nothing can get under his skin—I find that … powerful. To know that I’m the only variable in his life, that’s a whole lot of pressure.”

  Dr. Gervais finished off the contents of the glass. “Is he asking you to be anything more than you already are?”

  “That’s the thing,” she answered, taking another sip of the fiery liquid. “He isn’t. He says who I am is enough.”

  “Then quit bullshitting and believe the man!” She held out her hand. “Give me that phone.”

  Lani reluctantly complied.

  “Reach out to him.” Dr Gervais retrieved Jordan’s contact information on the unlocked phone then handed it back to her.

  She glanced at her mentor before sending a text requesting to see him. “Done.”

  “Don’t allow your need to be in control of everything let love slip away.”

  Lani glanced at her cell’s screen displaying the image of the man who had her feeling all kinds of emotions she never knew she could feel. He replied quicker than she expected. “Speaking of which, I need to get going and wrap things up.” She grabbed a mint from the glass bowl on the desk, unwrapped it and popped one into her mouth. “The ‘living my life’ part of my experience is able to meet with me in about two hours.”

  “That’s more like it.”

  Lani left the office to find Dr. Risden leaning on Alaina’s desk. He must have sensed her presence because he wore a smirk as he stood, while Alaina avoided Lani’s gaze.

  She studied the two of them, wondering what trouble he was stirring up now.

  “Dr. Jamison, please come to the nurses’ station on the fifth floor.”

  Anxiety shadowed Lani as she neared the end of her shift. She was low key excited about seeing Jordan, but nervous about maneuvering inside of the hospital. When she came in to work, she could have sworn she was being followed, but didn’t see anyone when she scanned the area around her.

  She made her way to the nurses’ station to respond to the page, concerned that she might have a repeat incident. When she arrived, Sandra was on the phone in a heated conversation and held up an index finger while she finished up the call. Once done, she picked up a sticky note. “Dr. Gervais wants to see you before you leave.”

  Lani glanced at the scribble, checked her cell, and frowned. “I was in Dr. Gervais’ office just over an hour ago. Why did she send this message here rather than to my phone?”

  Sandra shrugged. “This has been a strange day.” Handing over a midnight-blue envelope, she said, “Someone left this at the desk for you.”

  Opening the envelope, Lani pulled out a metallic-blue note paper. As she read the invitation, she couldn’t help smiling.

  “It must be a good thing.” Sandra stood, trying to get a peek at the paper.

  “It’s an invitation to attend a private charity dinner to raise money for robotic surgery development.” Lani returned the sheet to the envelope, breathing a sigh of relief. “Dr. Langston, a leading name in the field, will be speaking at the event.” She retrieved her cell, took a picture of the invitation, and texted it to Daron.

  “I’m surprised you didn’t already know about it.” Sandra rounded the desk, went to a mobile computer, and pulled out the keyboard.

  “It’s probably because it’s invite only.” Lani paused, considering the words and made a mental note to do an internet search to see if she could find out more about the people who organized the dinner. Her cell phone vibrated in her pocket. She assumed it was an alarm letting her know it was time to go. “Let me get out of here. I have plans tonight and I don’t want to be late.”

  “Don’t forget to swing by Dr. G’s.” Sandra’s focus went to the computer screen as she prepared to update the nurses coming on shift.

  Lani’s feet remained planted in place while she decided whether to grab her belongings first, or go to Dr. Gervais’ office, then cycle back. She headed to the stairway, feeling the heat of someone’s gaze, and glanced back to see Sandra staring at her. The nurse quickly looked away toward another nurse who approached the station talking up a storm. Strange.

  The door one flight up opened, and a pair of feet scurried down the stairs. Another door opened and Lani assumed the person had left the stairway. Her phone vibrated in her pocket. She shifted, resting a hand on the banister as she checked the screen. Jordan.

  She pressed answer as a smile blossomed. “Hey, Jor—”

  A shove in her back cut off the rest of her words. She dropped the phone, grasping for the banister to stop the forward momentum that had her stumbling down the stairs. The scream that left her mouth as she tumbled to the next landing seemed to come from someone else. Pain radiated throughout her body, and she could barely breathe.

  “Lani. Lani. Are you all right?” Jordan yelled on the other end.

  She moaned as she reached for the phone that landed on the last tread above the landing.

  A second later, Sandra flew down the stairs, breathing hard. “Dr. Jamison, what happened?”

  Lani put the phone to her ear. “I’m fine. Let me call you back.”

  Eyes wide, Sandra extended one hand to help Lani stand.

  Why was Sandra in the stairwell when she constantly claimed steps were the devil? She should have been two floors above Lani.

  “I was talking on the phone and missed a step.” Lani hated lying but didn’t want the evidence—if there was any—to disappear like it had before. Apparently, she wasn’t the only person Sandra kept well informed about what was going on inside the hospital.

  “Really?” Disbelief flashed in Sandra’s eyes. “Well … I now know your lungs are as healthy as that of a newborn baby. You need to be careful.”

  Lani gave a dry chuckle. “Clearly it’s time for me to get home.”

  Sandra picked up several items off the stairs. “Here you go.”

  “Thanks.” Lani scooped the pen and envelope from Sandra’s hand.

  Limping slightly, Lani headed out of the stairwell. Her mind was racing. After talking to Dr. Gervais, she planned to visit the security office. If luck was on her side, the cameras had captured what transpired in the stairwell. When she made it to Dr. Gervais’ office, the door was locked. She turned to make her way to security at the same moment Alaina entered the hallway.

  “Dr. Jamison, if you’re looking for Dr. Gervais, she left shortly after you met with her earlier.” Alaina unlocked the office door and swung it open. “Would you like to leave a note?”

  “No.” Lani was shaken by the fact that Dr. Gervais hadn’t left her that message. Was it an old message? If not, why would someone want her in this space? No one could have known she would take the steps. No one but Sandra, that is.

  With her mind going in circles, Lani went straight to the hospital’s security hub. At the sight of a familiar officer, she smiled.

  “Hey, Williams, I had an incident,” Lani said, then explained what transpired.

  He pulled out a chair for her. “We need you to fill out a report.”

  “I will, but is it possible for me to see some video footage?” She eased into the chair, setting her cell, pen, and the envelope on the desk.

  “Of course, which one?”

  She gestured to the top right camera, and he queued up the tape. An unidentified person stepped in from the third floor wearing scrubs, with a navy hoodie covering their head. The individual paced themselves, trotted down the stairs, shoved Lani, tossed something after her tumbling body, then left through the second-floor door. Seconds later, Sandra entered from the second floor and rushed down to help. William pulled up the footage from the second floor.

  “Sorry, Dr. Jamison.” He stopped the video. “The person stepped out and moved into a blind spot.”

  “Could you play it just a little while longer?” Lani stared at the screen as he hit play again. Sandra stepped into the camera’s view, then rushed into the stairwell. “Thanks.”

  Williams stood, moving toward the file cabinet. “Let me get those forms.”

  Lani grabbed her phone to call Jordan when she noticed a white folded sheet of paper sticking out from underneath the blue envelope. She slid it out and unfolded it. The note sent chills up her spine.

  I want you to hurt like I hurt.

  The only question on Lani’s mind was … who hated her this much?

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  “Why?” she said the moment Jordan opened the door. “Why did you still have an appointment with her on your calendar?”

  Jordan stepped aside and allowed Lani into his home.

  “She showed me the text you sent.”

  Lani didn’t even bother to take in the surroundings as she hobbled past him. She was that focused on answers. And why was she favoring her left leg? Why didn’t she at least tell him why she was screaming on the other end of the line.

  He wondered, but didn’t feel it was appropriate to ask now, not with her eyes flashing with anger. He didn’t want to seem as if he was avoiding the conversation.

  “You told me that you were done with them. All of them. You lied to me.” She reached the couch then pivoted to face him.

  “If you had given me the benefit of the doubt and allowed me to explain, I would’ve told you that it wasn’t that kind of appointment.” He gestured to the sectional, and she perched on the chaise portion. “I needed some answers. I found out that she is connected to my family in a way that I wasn’t aware of.” He shook his head and lowered himself on the cushion closest to the chaise. “And I certainly wish I didn’t know now.”

  Lani groaned as she shifted to a more comfortable position. “What do you mean?”

  “I’m too embarrassed to say.” He leaned forward, resting his forearms on his jean covered thighs.

  “No secrets between us.”

  Jordan felt the edges of his lips curving upward but didn’t think she’d appreciate it. “So, there’s an us?”

  “I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think there could be.”

  Jordan focused on the new painting of Lani before looking at the real-life person again. “I found out that Lady Ari is … was...my father’s mistress.”

  Lani blinked twice, opened her mouth to speak then clamped it shut. “Wait. What?”

  “Yes, that’s what I’m screaming.” Jordan ran a hand through his hair then lightly massaged the base of his neck. “I’m still trying to pick my jaw and my mind up from the floor.”

  “Are you all right?” Lani moved closer and took his hand in hers.

  “I’m pretty far from all right.” Jordan looked into her beautiful brown eyes and gave her hand a slight squeeze. “Just when I think I have my shit together, it all falls apart. You, my family, and now these skeletons that keep creeping out of the closet. How do I wrap my mind around this?”

  “You didn’t know.”

  “I know that, but it still feels … off .. and I feel used and targeted.” Jordan honestly felt manipulated more than anything. He had been fine with the consequences of his decision until he’d learned this secret. Lady Ari’s actions had taken away his right to choose whether he wanted to be with someone who’d been intimate with his father. Would he have still continued to work at the agency if he’d known? Maybe. But never with her.